Elysium
by Coqui's Song
Summary: Nico never thought he'd get to taste Elysium.


***spoilers for House of Hades* Man, I'm getting tired of putting this. **

**I think it's safe to say that I got a _little _carried away with this. And the more carried away with it I got, the suckier it got. So bear with me on this one. I mean... it's all right. I could have written it a lot better, though. **

**Also Percy is like seriously out-of-character and I don't know what to do. *sobs***

**Disclaimer: I'm not as good a writer as Rick Riordan, sadly. **

_Elysium_

By: Coqui's Song

_How truly tragic it is_, thinks Nico, hearing that terrible ringing in his ears, _that Annabeth Chase, the girl who'd run away when she was seven, fighting monsters all the way to Camp Half-Blood; the girl who'd survived the second Titan War; the girl who'd made it out of freaking _Tartarus _alive, was struck down by a mere _dracaena.

And now the painful buzzing in his ears that signifies her death is getting louder and louder and he wishes that he could block the sound, but covering his ears won't work; nothing will, so he just has to stand it. It makes every other sound around him muted.

Dimly, he can register Percy's sobs.

Nico's heart squeezes as he turns away from the monster dust. He'd killed the _dracaena _after she'd wounded Annabeth, but the deed had already been done. He looks at Percy, who is on his knees, next to his lost love.

Percy sounds so heartbroken; he keeps shaking Annabeth's body and calling her name, and the son of Hades just hates seeing him that way.

"Percy," he says as gently as he can, loathing the fact that he's the one who has to tell the son of Poseidon this. His voice cracks. "Percy, stop, it's no use."

He doesn't think that the son of Poseidon can hear him. He's too busy sobbing over Annabeth's body, running his hands through her curly blonde hair and murmuring heartbreaking things like, "Please don't die; we were supposed to get married and have kids, live in New Rome, Annabeth, please don't, I love you. I love you. I love you, Annabeth Chase."

Nico's throat constricts, because it's just another harsh reminder that Percy has never loved him, and how much he loves Percy.

The ringing in his ears is slowly getting duller. He feels Annabeth's spirit making her way to the Underworld.

"Percy," he tries again, a bit more firmly. The son of Poseidon still doesn't look at him, so Nico walks up to him quietly and kneels down beside him. There's no easy way to say it, so he just comes out with it. "Percy, she's gone. She's dead. I'm so sorry."

And he is. He likes Annabeth, he really does, and it hurts that she's dead now. She was one of the only demigods to accept him and care about him. His grieving will have nothing on Percy's, but he still mourns.

"She…" Percy starts, then chokes on his words. The son of Poseidon takes a shaky breath and hesitantly glances at Nico. His sea-green eyes are puffy and red from crying and tears streak through the dirt on his face. Nico wants so much to brush them from his cheeks and hold him, but he restrains himself. Percy wipes away his tears and sniffs. "She will go to Elysium, right?"

"Of course she will, Percy," he murmurs softly. "She died a hero's death."

"Can… do you know where her spirit is? Like, is-is she in the Underworld already?"

"She's on Charon's boat," Nico replies flatly. "If you want, I'll give her a pass so that she can be evaluated by the judges more quickly. So she won't have to stand in line for very long."

Percy's eyebrows scrunch together. "And how long will she be in line if you don't give her a pass?"

"A few months," he answers truthfully.

"Then yes. Please."

"Okay."

Nico begins to stand, but Percy stops him, grabbing the son of Hades' shoulders and pulling him back down to him. Nico tenses, his heart beginning to race and his breathing quickening. He forces himself to calm down. _Percy doesn't love me, so stop thinking that, _he scolds himself. He doesn't usually like human contact, but the older half-blood's hands are so warm and gods, it's _Percy; _he wishes the son of Poseidon would always grip him this way.

"Are you okay?" It's a stupid question, and Nico knows it the moment it leaves his mouth. His social skills are just fan-fucking-tastic. Of _course_ Percy isn't okay; the love of his life just _died_. Still, it's the only thing Nico can think to say.

"I-I just," he falters, his sea-green eyes brimming with tears. Percy says nothing more and just crushes the unsuspecting son of Hades into a tight hug, which Nico reluctantly returns (well, not really, but he makes it look like it's reluctant).

"She'll get Elysium. She'll get Elysium," Nico finds himself promising over and over, and Percy's nodding and sniffling.

Finally, after what feels like forever, Percy lets him go with a murmur of thanks. He takes a deep breath and says, "Nico… don't...I want you to come back. After you go to the Underworld. Come back."

He blinks. The idea hadn't even occurred to him to stay in the Underworld. He wonders why Percy felt the need to tell him that. "Yeah. Yeah, sure."

**Ω Ω Ω**

Nico finds Annabeth in near the back of one of the death lines, fiddling with her robes. Her gray eyes flit about nervously, and then they land on Nico and she looks instantly relieved. He walks up to her, trying for a smile. "Hey, I knew I'd find you here."

"Well, it's your father's domain," she replies. "And you do spend most of your time here than above ground. So why'd you want to find me?"

"You're my friend," Nico says, "and Percy–"

Her gray eyes look pained at the mention of the son of Poseidon. Probably the same expression he wears when he's by himself in a secluded little corner, longing for him. He wonders if Annabeth ever caught him looking like that. Wonders if she knows that he loves her boyfriend (or… her ex-boyfriend now? Ugh, death is confusing, even for a son of Hades).

"Uh, I've come to speed your journey," the son of Hades continues. He holds out his hand for Annabeth to take, and she does. "Fast-Pass to Elysium."

Other ghosts try to grab at him, but he only has to send a few death glares and they back away. The daughter of Athena smiles at the other ghosts, as if sorry that the son of Hades knows her personally and likes her enough to do her this favor.

They pass under Cerberus and walk right up to the judges of the dead.

The judges, of course, aren't too thrilled about this breach of protocol, but Nico just has to remind them that he's the son of their master and if they have a problem with it, they can take it up with Hades, who has _much _more important matters to attend to, and they agree to evaluate Annabeth right away. He stands to the side, not really listening in. Annabeth's life is no business of his.

She gets Elysium, obviously, and before she enters the pearly gates, she wraps Nico in a hug. "Thanks."

"No problem," he manages.

She pulls away, her eyes red. He hopes she doesn't cry. He doesn't think he'll be able to deal with that. "Don't tell him yet, but if there ever comes a time… if Percy is grieving for me for too long… tell him that it's okay if he falls in love again. I _want _him to. I want him to be happy, you know? Tell him it's okay, and that I'll be waiting for him in Elysium. I won't go to the River Lethe without him."

"Annabeth," he says, suddenly wanting to confess his secret to her. She won't be telling anyone now that she's dead, anyway, and despite the fact that she's Percy's (ex?)-girlfriend, he feels comfortable around her. Again, she's the one of the few demigods to always be looking out for him, along with Percy, Hazel, and Jason. "About Percy–"

"I know," she interrupts. "You don't have to tell me, Nico, I know." She raises her hand and touches his face, smiling sweetly.

He's blinking in astonishment –he'd tried to hide his feelings so much, he'd always been sure that no one could tell (well, maybe Jason, but that was after his bloody interaction with the god of love). He wonders what tipped her off.

"You don't… hate me?" he asks, remembering how jealous she had gotten when she thought Rachel had a crush on Percy.

She shakes her head. "Nico, all you have ever done for Percy was save his life. I can't hate you for protecting him. For being his guardian _angelo_. You have never done anything to suggest that you wanted to take Percy away from me. You've just kept him alive and happy."

Nico's gaze drops and he looks at his black Converse shoes. "He's not happy now. And I don't know what to do about it this time."

"It'll take time," she agrees. "But one day, Percy will get over me."

There's a strange feeling in his stomach. He feels upset, upset that Annabeth died. Maybe he always was jealous when he saw them holding hands and kissing and hugging, but he never wished death upon the daughter of Athena; she's his friend too. He was jealous, but he knew, whenever he saw Percy's sea-green eyes brighten around her –he knew that they were meant for each other. While the knowledge slowly killed him from the inside, he was glad that Percy had gotten the happiness he so deserved, even if it was with Annabeth and not him.

Nico hadn't known that in the end, Percy's happiness would be ripped away. "I-I don't know."

"I do," Annabeth says with absolute certainty. Her gray eyes look pained, but she's smiling. "I do know."

**Ω Ω Ω**

It's been about a year and a half since Annabeth's death. Nico had moved into Percy's apartment in Manhattan; the son of Poseidon had insisted on it, because he apparently couldn't handle sleeping alone.

"Not without… not without Annabeth," said Percy. "The nightmares. She'd help me through them. But she's gone now, and you're the only other person who's gone through Tartarus. Who knows what we've been through."

Of course Nico accepted, but it's pretty damn hard pretending to care about Percy in only a platonic sense. Sometimes when the son of Poseidon wakes up screaming and Nico bursts into his room (he sleeps in the living room on a sofa-bed), he's _so tempted _to kiss him, but he can't, so he just awkwardly holds him and tells him that he never is going back down there; he's safe, or as safe as he can be, being a demigod.

Percy doesn't give him comfort when he has a nightmare, mostly because Nico suffers through in silence. He doesn't cry out or thrash about in bed; he's still as a statue. He kind of wishes he did scream, though. Part of him wants Percy's protective arms around him for a change.

Sometimes, it seems that Annabeth is right and that he's slowly but surely getting over her. Other times, he still holds her picture close to him and sobs his heart out.

He does that on the night of her birthday.

They're at Camp Half-Blood, training little itty-bitty twelve-year-old demigods. Nico looks at them and is reminded of when he was twelve. He's only five years older than them at seventeen, but he feels so much older. Even at twelve, he felt old. Bianca had died, the Titan War was going on… He shakes his head to stop these thoughts.

Nico's looking for Percy; it's their turn to wash dishes, but the son of Poseidon has snuck off. He walks through the forest with his Stygian iron sword drawn; there are a ton of nasties in the forests of Camp Half-Blood. He hears crying and knows instantly it's Percy. He follows the sound of the sobs and comes to a clearing on the banks of the creek. Percy's sitting on top of a log, staring at a picture of Annabeth that he always keeps with him.

The son of Hades keeps to the shadows, wanting to offer comfort but having no idea how, even after all those nights spent revisiting Tartarus.

He recalls what Annabeth had said to him before she entered Elysium, all that time ago. Maybe it's time to tell him. Nico swallows and clears his throat, hopefully alerting Percy to his presence. "Annabeth… you know, she's waiting for you. In Elysium."

At his words, Percy glances up. He doesn't reply; he just stares at the son of Hades, hunger in his eyes, as if he wants Nico to continue to talk about Annabeth.

So he does.

"She wants you to stop grieving for her," he murmurs truthfully. "She wants you to get over her, so you can love and be happy again."

"I know," Percy responds, his voice cracking. "I just– I can't. I love her so much, Nico."

He mutters that he knows and that he wishes he could help, but he can't.

"But you can," the son of Poseidon presses, eyes blazing with hope. "You can bring her back to life, can't you Nico?"

"In theory," he says carefully, "yes."

Percy stands up, fixing Nico with an intense sea-green gaze. "Can you do it? Please?"

"Percy, it's more complicated than just bringing your girlfriend back to life," he replies uncomfortably. "It's better to just let the dead stay dead."

"What about Hazel? You brought her back to life!" Percy accuses, and Nico can see the hurt in his eyes.

"That's different," he argues desperately. "The Doors of Death were open; Thanatos was chained up, and she-she deserved another chance."

"And Annabeth doesn't?" Percy shouts. The son of Hades can see that he's about to start crying again.

"I'm not saying that," he spits out. As much as he loves Percy, the damned son of the sea god can get on his nerves. "It's just… it would be very difficult to do it, Percy. There has to be a sacrifice. A life for a life. That's what Minos told me."

"I don't care," says Percy, and then he drops down to his knees, tears running down his cheeks. "I don't care."

In all the time Nico has known the son of Poseidon, he has never, _ever _acted selfish. It comes as such a shock, he's speechless for a while, just watching Percy sobbing on the ground. Percy, not caring for the loss of a life so long as his beloved is returned to him?

Finally, Nico manages to find his voice. "Percy, I can't do that. I won't."

The look that Percy gives him is a mix between absolute hatred and betrayal, and a kind of desperate pleading. Nico likens it to Mrs. O'Leary when she's begging for treats. Well, except for the hatred and betrayal bit. Percy's sea-green eyes are crazed, and Nico suddenly finds himself losing his own resolve. It's scary to think of the power Percy has over him; how one look can make him consider killing someone.

Nico takes a shaky breath. "Who? Who would you kill? You can't just kill some mortal! It has to be someone who has cheated death."

Percy doesn't answer. He just keeps giving the son of Hades that look, but now sadness and regret is in there, too, and Nico feels sick to his stomach.

It's insulting, really.

All he's ever done for Percy is help him, protect him, and now Percy's asking him to give his own life for the daughter of Athena.

If anyone should feel betrayed, it's Nico. The problem is, he doesn't.

No matter how much Nico hates him for it, he's actually considering it. Killing himself for Annabeth. It's a better option than Percy killing himself, anyway. And Nico will finally, _finally _be put out of his misery. And he might even get Elysium (Nico doesn't really believe that, though).

_No. No no no no no no no no, _he tells himself, backing away from the son of Poseidon, who is now looking startled himself, as if he hadn't realized what he'd been thinking. _I want to live, I want to live, I owe it to Bianca, I want to live._

Words simply cannot describe how hurt he is. He turns away and runs.

"Nico! W-wait!" he hears Percy's voice calling out for him, but he doesn't care. He has dishes to clean, things to think and reflect on. "I didn't mean –_fuck._"

Once Nico's out of the forest, he slows to a walk, tears on his face. Angrily he wipes his tears away with the back of his hand, and he keeps his head down, not wanting anyone to notice. Someone does, and it's that infernal son of Jupiter, _Jason. _

"Hey, man," he calls out quietly, taking Nico's wrist.

He doesn't hate Jason. In fact, if he's honest with himself, he's pretty grateful to the son of Jupiter for accepting him so easily and for trying to befriend and advise him. He's forgiven Jason and they're generally good friends, but Nico still finds it difficult to open up even though the son of Jupiter already knows his deepest secret.

"Let go of me," he seethes, but Jason's pretty stubborn. So Nico turns to him and scowls. "What?"

"You were crying. What happened?" Jason asks, concerned.

"Nothing," he growls.

"Something happened with Percy," Jason guesses again. "Did you tell him?"

"No."

"Then why?"

Nico takes a shaky breath and decides to just come out with it. But he can't seem to find the words. "Percy -he misses Annabeth, and… he wants her back… A life for a life…"

Jason frowns, slightly confused. "A life for a life. You mean… No." The son of Jupiter's face hardens.

"He wasn't thinking straight," Nico attempts to defend Percy. "It's her birthday."

"Nothing excuses that," snarls Jason, and his blue eyes flash like his father's lightning. The air smells of ozone. The hairs on the son of Hades' arms sticks straight up. Nico's not quite sure he's ever seen Jason so livid.

"I'll talk with him about it later; tell him if I can't get her back, I can have her talk with him. Please don't do anything," the son of Hades pleads. He's furious at Percy, yes, but he doesn't want Jason to intervene. Nico can handle it on his own. He's a son of the one of the Big Three, too. Percy and Jason always seem to forget that in their haste to protect him.

"I can't promise that," Jason replies, stone-faced. "Just go wash the dishes, Nico. I'll help you in a minute. Just let me think for a bit."

**Ω Ω Ω**

It's not so much thinking as it is walking into the forest to beat the ever-loving shit out of that idiotic son of Poseidon, Jason thinks to himself as he finds Percy, still on the ground, looking like a helpless puppy. It doesn't fool the son of Jupiter, though.

Percy glances up at him and slowly stands, dusting off his jeans and wiping his eyes. "Hey, Jason."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Jason hisses, clenching his fists. He's taking deep breaths to try to control his temper, but it's not really working. Blue sparks are flying off of him, he's so pissed.

"What are you talking about?"

Jason can't help it; Percy's obliviousness is so infuriating. He punches the son of Poseidon, feeling his nose break, and then Percy's on the ground, his nose spouting blood like a water fountain. Percy tips his head back and covers his nose with his right hand, but the blood runs down his face and his arm now, too.

Jason is panting over him, fists still clenched. He points to the general direction of Camp Half-Blood, where Nico is washing dishes, unaware that Jason is in this confrontation right now. "That boy fucking loves you, you know. He is head over heels. He'd do anything for you. He didn't want to tell you, but I'm telling you now, because you're acting like a freaking moron. Gods, Percy, why can't you let the dead stay dead?" Maybe he's speaking too callously, but he hardly cares right now. All he knows is that _Percy hurt Nico _and he's not going to allow that.

Percy stares up at him, his eyes wide. He opens his mouth as if to say something, but he apparently thinks better of it and shuts his mouth. Or maybe it's because the blood is going into his mouth. The expression on his face is one of intense guilt and self-loathing. Slowly, he lifts his hand away from his face. His nose isn't bleeding so much anymore. "I-I didn't know," is his only defense.

"Well, now you do," he growls.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't say that to me," says Jason grimly. "And something tells me it's gonna take a hell of a lot more than _sorry, _Jackson."

"I know. Do you think he'll forgive me?"

"Percy, Nico will always forgive you," he sighs.

**Ω Ω Ω**

Later that night, at about one in the morning, the door to the apartment opens. Nico's pretending to be asleep so he doesn't have to talk to him. He kind of wishes he'd shadow-travelled to the Underworld, but it had been too late and he was tired, physically and emotionally. So he'd taken a shower and collapsed on his bed.

"Nico," he hears Percy say, and he feels a weight on the bed as the other demigod sits down.

The son of Hades groans and throws his blankets off of himself and sits up, crossing his legs. "What?" he asks hotly, glaring at Percy. The son of Poseidon's shoulders are slumped and he's turned towards Nico, with his left leg hanging off the bed. Dark red stains spot his orange Camp Half-Blood shirt. _Was he attacked? _the son of Hades wonders, but he can't really see any scars on him. Plus, he doesn't really care. Percy's alive, isn't he?

_(He does care, but he pushes away his worry)._

He expects Percy to apologize, but he doesn't. Instead, he wonders softly, "How long, Nico?"

He doesn't need to specify. Nico knows what he's asking, and he's temporarily infuriated with that blasted son of Jupiter. He knows what happened now. Idiotic Jason confronted moronic Percy.

Oh, is Nico gonna kill Jason the next time he sees him.

He might as well answer. "Since… since you saved me and Bianca. From the manticore. It was hero-worship at first, but then..." He looks down, ashamed and afraid. _But then I knew you, you the human and not the hero, imperfect but still beautiful in your imperfections..._

"And you still feel that way?" Percy presses gently, hesitantly reaching out to place his hand on Nico's knee.

Nico doesn't reply in words. He only turns his head and swallows. _Yes. _

"Jason told me," Percy continues sadly. "I didn't know. I was so stupid and inconsiderate and _oblivious. _It was so obvious." He shakes his head and sighs. "The way you hug me after I have a nightmare." _Like I'll never let you go, _Nico thinks. "The way you always look out for me." _Like you do for me. _ "You're always there for me. _Always. _And how do I repay you? I ask you to bring my dead girlfriend back to life. That must hurt."

To which, Nico murmurs, "I'm used to it."

"I'm a shit person, Nico." Percy laughs really hard, but it's without humor.

The son of Hades doesn't really have a reply, so he pauses for a moment. "If-if you want to see Annabeth, we can do that. Like what we did with Bianca when I was eleven. We can do that."

"How can you forgive me so easily? I didn't just ask you to bring my dead girlfriend back –I asked you to _kill yourself _for her. Not even me. _You,_" Percy says, with obvious revulsion at his own actions.

"You weren't thinking straight," he replies softly. "You missed her, you just wanted her back, and you didn't care what stood in your way. I felt that way after Bianca died. And… Bianca told me I had to let go of grudges."

"Taking it to the extreme a bit. Can't you at least be angry with me?"

He narrows his dark eyes. "I am angry with you, Percy. _Incredibly _angry. That doesn't mean I can't help you. You need to let go of Annabeth, and it seems the only person who can do help you do that is Annabeth herself. And to get her, you need _me._"

"I only ever need _you _these days," says Percy, half to himself. He doesn't sound bitter, though, just tired and sad. "Fine. Okay. When can we do it?" He's trying to hide his eagerness to see Annabeth, Nico can tell –he doesn't want to hurt him any more than he already has.

"Now, if you want. We just need some McDonalds. And to go to Central Park or something."

**Ω Ω Ω**

So they arrive in Central Park, and Nico's digging up some earth so that he can throw Coke and cheap hamburgers in it.

Percy's watching silently, turning his head every so often. He has his pen in hand, ready to uncap it at any moment. "Isn't this illegal?"

"If cops come, we'll shadow-travel out of here," he grumbles in reply, slightly irritated. He keeps digging. "They won't ever know who did it."

That seems to quiet the son of Poseidon's worries enough for him to bend down beside Nico and help him. Once he's satisfied with the dirt hole, Nico steps back, sneezing out dust from his nostrils. "Ugh," he says, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. "Hand me the burgers, will you?"

Percy takes them out of the McDonald's to-go bag and unwraps them. "Can I have the fries?" he asks as he gives them to the son of Hades.

"Later," Nico replies, and he dumps the burgers into the hole. Then he opens a can of Coke, takes a couple of sips, licks his lips, enjoying the flavor of the soda, and then pours it over the burgers. The ground fizzes and bubbles up. It sounds pretty gross and looks pretty gross, but Nico ignores it and begins to chant in Ancient Greek, summoning the dead. Summoning her. He can feel Percy watching closely and curiously. He also feels a sort of uneasiness coming off of the son of Poseidon, but he keeps chanting.

Specters begin to arrive, making the hot summer night cool about thirty degrees. Nico's arm hair bristles, not used to the cold after all these warm months.

"Annabeth Chase," he calls out, and a shimmering form bends down over the dirt hole and scoops up a handful of Coca-Cola and drinks it, then takes a bite of a hamburger. She straightens, and though she is still semi-transparent, she seems much more corporeal now. Like she's no longer made of mist. Her curly blonde hair is tied back in a low ponytail and curled over her shoulder. She wears jeans and her orange Camp Half-Blood shirt and her bead necklace. She smiles gently at Nico, and he drops his gaze. "Hello, Annabeth."

"Annabeth," Percy breathes, stepping forward as if entranced. He opens his arms as if he wants to hug her, but he cannot; her ghostly form dissipates as it nears living flesh.

"Percy," she says contentedly, if not a little firmly, "I passed on a message to Nico. Didn't he tell you?"

"Needed to hear it from you," he mutters, staring into her bright gray eyes with an expression of such longing that Nico has to look away momentarily.

She just shakes her head in annoyance. "Seaweed Brain, I want you to be happy. This grieving, being torn up about my death… that's not making you happy. It's _killing _you. It's not wrong to mourn for me. I miss you so much, Percy, I do. But I hate seeing you this way."

"It's hard," says Percy, his voice cracking. "Letting you go."

"I know," Annabeth murmurs. "But you can't spend your whole life torn up about me. It takes time, I know, but it's been almost two years, Percy."

"I just want," Percy starts, but then he chokes on his words. He drops his gaze for a moment before fixing it back on his dead girlfriend. He swallows hard and narrows his eyes. It's pretty obvious that he's trying really hard not to cry. The son of Poseidon takes a deep breath and continues, "I just want to kiss you one last time. One last taste of Elysium."

"I do, too," says the deceased daughter of Athena, blinking her eyes to clear away her tears. "But I can't."

"I can help," Nico croaks, and Annabeth's intense, blazing gray eyes are on him in a millisecond, and Percy's green gaze starts to sparkle with hope.

"How?" Percy breathes, as if unwilling to actually believe it.

Nico di Angelo is the only person alive who can touch ghosts. So he grabs Annabeth's wrist easily and then the son of Hades takes Percy's hand. "Now, kiss." He has no idea if it'll work, but he's got to try. For Percy. For his happiness.

To his confusion, Percy doesn't lean in to kiss the daughter of Athena, and Annabeth makes no move toward her boyfriend either. They're both looking at _him _with concern in their eyes.

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" Annabeth asks gently.

"You guys dated for three years before you died, Annabeth. Do you really think that you need my permission for a simple kiss?" Nico raises his eyebrows.

"But you love me," says Percy quietly, tensing.

_Oh, great, here's personal-loyalty-Percy. Where were you a few hours ago? _Nico thinks scornfully.

"_So what?" _he snaps, wanting for them to just kiss and get over it. Gods, Percy had been sobbing his heart out earlier. He'd wanted to _kill Nico _to bring Annabeth back to life, and now he's rejecting the _kiss_? "I've seen you two kiss thousands of times. Does it hurt? Yes, I'll be honest. It hurts. _But I don't care._ Just fucking _kiss _already!"

Hesitantly, Percy leans in and touches Annabeth's cheek with his free hand. Annabeth stands on her tiptoes to reach him, and their lips touch. That's when Nico looks away. He's not masochistic. Of course, it's pretty awkward anyway, because he's right next to them. After a surprisingly short time, Nico feels Percy's hand slip out of his. The son of Hades glances up to see Percy step back and grin at Annabeth.

"What…?" whispers Nico, confused. He looks at Annabeth, who is gazing lovingly at the son of Poseidon. "And here I thought you'd be kissing for like half an hour."

"I can't be here very long, Nico, you know that," Annabeth says fondly. She ruffles his messy black hair, as if he were still an eleven year old. He pushes away his annoyance. "I-I have to go back to the Underworld now." She squeezes Nico's hand. "Thank you. For everything."

She means it, she really means it, Nico knows that. He gives her a tentative smile, which she returns gladly.

"Goodbye, Percy," she says.

"Bye, Annabeth," he replies, but he doesn't have that look of longing anymore. In fact, he says it like they'll be seeing each other again really soon. "Don't party too hard without me."

Annabeth laughs as her form fades away. And then it's down to Percy and Nico, staring at the dirty burgers. They stay there in silence for a bit.

"So… are you at peace now? Accepting of Annabeth's death and all?" the son of Hades ventures.

Percy nods. "Now, let's go home. I'm bushed."

**Ω Ω Ω**

He and Percy don't even take a shower when they arrive back home. Nico, exhausted from shadow-travelling the two of them and from not having slept at all, collapses on his bed, not caring that he's dirtying the sheets with his mud-stained jeans. Percy follows, not even making it to his own bed. The son of Poseidon just crashes next to Nico.

Nico has always slept alone. He has to say, he kind of likes the warmth of another being near him as he sleeps.

Sunlight wakes him and he groans. He smells pancakes and bacon being made. He sits up, not feeling rested at all, but the scent of breakfast is heaven to his hungry stomach. "What time is it, Percy?"

"About ten o'clock," he calls back.

Nico frowns and slowly gets off of the bed and makes his way to the kitchen, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Why're you making breakfast?"

"I'm hungry, duh. Stay here for breakfast. I wanna talk to you," Percy states as he flips a pancake with practiced ease. Nico's surprised; they aren't dyed blue. Percy _always _makes blue pancakes (never blue waffles, but that's a long story). He probably notices Nico staring, because he points to the trash can. "Out of blue food coloring."

Well, that explains it.

Nico goes to the bathroom to take a shower and brush his teeth. When he's done, breakfast is served. He slips into his chair at the breakfast table silently, wondering what Percy wants with him. A plate of pancakes and bacon sits in front of him, along with a mug of coffee. He makes no move toward the plate of food and instead takes a sip of the coffee, his dark eyes flickering to Percy, who sits directly across from him. He licks his lips and sets down the mug.

Percy's not speaking, and Nico hates just waiting, so he starts on his pancakes.

After being rescued from the bronze jar, he never ate much. Once Gaea had been put back to sleep and all that jazz, Percy noticed that Nico wouldn't eat, and the son of Poseidon had put an end to that pretty quickly. Nico fondly recalled one time, at Camp Half-Blood, when he played with his food and Percy had come sit next to him, even though it was against rules. Percy had asked why he wasn't eating, and Nico shook his head and didn't answer.

And then Percy basically force-fed him. From that day on, Nico made sure to eat at least two meals a day, otherwise he'd have a concerned (and furious) son of Poseidon on his tail, yelling at him to _eat, eat, eat. Food is good!_

Now Nico doesn't turn away from food. Rather, he'll stuff his face if he has the chance.

Percy doesn't speak until he finishes eating three pancakes. He serves himself a fourth, but doesn't dig into it. Instead, he takes a sip of his own coffee. The son of Poseidon sets it back down carefully and meets Nico's gaze. "Thanks. For last night."

The son of Hades drops his eyes and shrugs. "No problem, Percy."

"I want to apologize. Like, really apologize. For acting like such an asshole," Percy continues, then sighs. "I want you to know that I really do care about you."

Nico looks back up uncertainly. Percy couldn't be confessing his love to him when just seven hours before, he was kissing the ghost of Annabeth Chase. But then he remembers how Percy force-fed him that day and how he saved him from the bronze jar and _everything_, and it's clear. Of course the son of Poseidon cares about him; he wouldn't have asked him to come _live _with him otherwise. "I know."

Percy stiffens. "Not-not _that _way. You're-you're a little brother to me."

"Big brothers don't ask their little brothers to kill themselves," Nico says angrily, but then he recalls Bianca's warning about holding grudges being his fatal flaw and he shuts up. Percy's apologized, and gods damn it, _he forgives him, he forgives him, he forgives him. _"Sorry."

"It's okay," says Percy simply, and Nico can't help but envy how easy it is for the son of Poseidon to forgive others when Nico has to work so hard at letting go of his grudges.

Percy leans back in his chair and glances out the window of their apartment, tapping his fingers on the table. They both fall silent for a while, but it's not awkward; it's just a natural pause in the conversation. Of course, natural pauses don't usually last this long, do they? Nico wonders as he looks at the clock that hangs on the wall. Then, Percy breaks the silence. "I've been thinking, though."

"You, thinking?" he mutters. It's something Annabeth would say, and part of him already feels guilty, even though Percy doesn't reprimand him. He remembers last night and supposes that Annabeth isn't a forbidden subject anymore.

Nico's love for Percy, however, is and always will be the forbidden subject for him, unless he's the one who starts to talk about it (and he rarely is)_. _Then again, only Jason and Hazel know that it's the forbidden subject. Percy wants to talk about it, and why wouldn't he?

He makes a mental note to himself, again, to kill Jason for this mess later.

"Yeah, well." Percy shrugs and turns back to him, grinning. But then he's serious again, and all Nico can think is how he doesn't like it when Percy's smile drops into a frown. "I kind of wish I did."

"Wish you did what?" repeats Nico.

"I wish I did love you," Percy clarifies, and the son of Hades' heart squeezes painfully and gods, _why does Percy have to be so good? _Certainly, Percy isn't perfect; last night is a testament to that, but overall, the son of Poseidon is kind, caring, compassionate.

"Why?" he asks.

"After all you've done for me because you love me, and your feelings aren't even reciprocated. It's not… I mean… it's got to hurt, right? I just… I don't want _you _to hurt anymore."

_He _wishes Percy would stop saying things like that, because it just makes him fall deeper into what he now thinks is an endless chasm of love; deeper and bringing more misery than Tartarus. "Well, it's not going to happen," he says harshly, to cover up his pain. "I gave up on you years ago, Percy. Sooner or later, I'll get over you."

_I'll get over you. _

The more he says it to himself, the more it becomes a lie.

Something tells him that Percy can sense that, too. "Look, I'm just… I'm going to admit something. I've accepted Annabeth's death, okay? But I don't think… I'm not sure I'll ever get over her. I mean, when I was dipped into the Styx, I saw her. She's the one who connected me to the mortal world. And when Hera took all my memories, I only remembered her. She wasn't just my girlfriend. She was part of me."

Nico doesn't reply. How can he?

"Anyway, I'm not going to get my happy ending with her." Percy shakes his head. "No New Rome, no kids. I'm only in college because Annabeth would want me to continue, to make the best of my life."

"What are you trying to say?" the son of Hades inquires, tensing.

"That you can still have _your _happy ending. With me."

His breathing momentarily stops. "W-what?"

"I don't love you that way, but I think I could try," says the son of Poseidon, giving him a grin.

Nico doesn't know how to respond to that. How does one respond to a simple sentence that makes all their dreams come true?

Shit, he's sounding like a Disney World commercial.

He pushes around his bacon with his fork. "So…"

"I'm giving you permission to kiss me, you idiot."

That makes him drop his fork and look up, heart ramming his ribcage a million times a second, which can't be healthy. "You're serious? You won't mind? You're really serious about this?"

Percy rolls his eyes. "Gods damn it, Nico."

Nico smiles and doesn't talk anymore, just focusing on eating his breakfast. Mostly because he honestly does not believe what just happened, and bodily functions like having to eat in order to get energy make more sense.

Once he's finished, he helps Percy with the dishes and then they're on the couch watching TV and Nico slowly lets himself lean on the son of Poseidon. His heart is pounding, but he forces himself to relax. Percy makes no move to push him off; in fact, he inches closer.

**Ω Ω Ω**

That night, Nico has a nightmare about his time in Tartarus. Usually he'd suffer silently, but he wakes up to Percy's arms around him and suddenly his lips are on Percy's and Nico finally knows what Elysium tastes like.

He supposes he doesn't have to kill Jason now.

**Not the best thing I've ever written, but certainly not the worst. There are some lines in it that I do like. Probably the ones I like are the ones that are the most terrible, but whatever. It's how it works. XD**

**Reviews are much appreciated. :)**

_**~Coqui's Song**_


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